


The End on Mars

by LilyLlama



Category: The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: Alternate Ending, Gen, Novel, Watney/Lewis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-03-12
Packaged: 2018-05-26 05:54:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6226516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilyLlama/pseuds/LilyLlama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Mark Watney wasn't saved? In this alternate ending of The Martian by Andy Weir, Watney's rescue mission doesn't go as planned. Mark Watney will be the first man to die on Mars.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The End on Mars

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this back when it was just me and the book; no movie business. There are some details that are changed, but are just there to set the mood. Plus, I heavily shipped Mark and Lewis while reading the book and I had to express it.

The astronaut steps up to the MAV taking in the shear size of its metal hull. He takes a step up the stairs to the base of the ladder reaching to the captain's chair. It was bare from the renovation orders he had to accomplish from NASA. The canvas held tight and blocked the sun from entering the open cabin. A slight breeze came through from the door and the hole where the window used to be. A crackling signal came in through the headset of the astronaut's suit. A voice that was familiar for the man faded in, "Okay Watney, we are ready for launch."  
The astronaut sat in the silence of Mars thinking. He thought about how far he had come. The troubles he faced: the Hab canvas tearing, the rover flipping, the fear of never returning to Earth. He thought about those potatoes he left behind. Would anyone ever find them?  
He started the engine, it returning with a roar. The familiar shake returned. The astronaut smiled. He would see space again. The familiar force upon him returned. The world started to pull away. The canvas still revealed the sun, the view slowly fading to the black of space. But soon the sun shone brighter as the canvas ripped. As the astronaut became unconscious, he realized what his fate would be. The force pressed against the control panel, breaking off levels and buttons. A green button, the color of grass, released its grip from the metal, flying straight towards the astronaut to make a hole in his suit. Another button, this one blue, also followed. It flew at the velocity of a bullet, breaking the glass of his helmet. The air in his suit joined the Mars atmosphere of the cabin. The astronaut's breathe joining as well. His lungs collapsed pronouncing the astronaut as dead. Before the breath released from the astronaut's body, he thought of one thing. He thought of the captain of the ship, Captain Lewis. He thought of what he would've told her when he got on that ship and what he has wanted to tell her since they set off on the Hermes ship set for Mars.

A crewmate meets the MAV to find his body floating in the seat. It's hard to tell his current state, but he still lifts him up to Hermes. When the astronaut arrives, the medical officer deals the bad news. Everyone cries. When the mass of crew spreads back up into the bridge, Lewis stays behind. She looks at the face of the late astronaut through her sob of tears filled with the words she didn't get the chance to speak. She leans over and gently kisses his cheek, "Goodbye Mark Watney."


End file.
